How to heal a Strained Hamstring

If you work for a large organization or are required to deal with one, you may have been hamstrung – prevented from taking action – by the endless bureaucracy. But hamstrings? What is a hamstring? Where is your hamstring located, and is there a relation between the two words? Let’s talk about hamstring anatomy first.

Hamstring Anatomy

The hamstrings are the long, tendonlike muscles that run along the back of your thigh from buttocks to knee. The first syllable comes from the Old English ham or hom, meaning the hollow or bend of the knee; the strings refer to tendons. Put the syllables together and you have hamstrings: the tendons at the bend of the knee.

If you are hamstrung, technically you have been crippled by these tendons being cut; less literally however, you have been prevented from acting or being efficient.

Hamstring Muscle Group

Your hamstrings are crucial to your body’s motion. There are three hamstring muscles that extend from your buttocks to your knee.Your hamstring muscle group consists of the biceps femoris, the semitendonosus, and the semimembranosus. This trio of muscles is the grouping that is primarily responsible for straightening your hip and bending your knee.

Hamstring Injuries

Hamstring injuries generally result when the muscles come into contact with excessive force. The sudden starts and stops that athletes make while running or the cutting or jumping movements they make when playing soccer or basketball may cause hamstring strain.

Overstretching the muscles while lifting something heavy or while hurdling or kicking can also result in injury to your hamstring group. The muscles may even become overloaded which can result in a hamstring tear. A sudden increase in the intensity of exercise or training can lead to hamstring injuries, as can running on hard surfaces, poor pelvic alignment and stress on the body due to obesity.

Hamstring strains come in three flavours, or degrees or seriousness:

A Grade I hamstring strain (or tendinitis) is a mild overload with minimal muscle tearing involved; it will feel like a muscle pull or cramp.

A Grade II hamstring strain is a moderate strain with partial tearing of the muscle that may be accompanied by a stinging or burning feeling at the back of your thigh.

A Grade III hamstring strain, the most severe, is a completely torn muscle that may leave a knot or lump at the spot where the tear has happened.

What does a hamstring strain feel like?

If your hamstring strain is a mild one, you may not even notice it until you stop exercising or until the next day when there might be tightness, soreness and bruising; however, the strength of your hamstring shouldn’t be affected.

More severe hamstring injuries include symptoms that may include a sharp, sudden pain in the back of your thigh or in your buttocks; a sensation of popping or tearing in the muscle; swelling; bruising; tenderness when touched; the inability to straighten your leg or lift it when lying down; and challenges in walking or in sitting comfortably.

With a Grade II strain, you’ll lose some leg strength and if the strain is a Grade III strain, you’ll likely be unable to use your leg.

Hamstring Treatment

How to treat a strained hamstring depends on the severity of the strain. Mild strains can be treated at home, similar to any other minor sports injury. The RICE approach works well: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Avoid physical activity; apply cold packs to your hamstring for 15 to 20 minutes every few hours; use an elastic bandage to wrap and compress the thigh to reduce swelling; and keep your leg raised on pillows to further minimize swelling. You can also take over-the-counter painkillers, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines.

If the strain is severe, surgery may be required to repair the tear. Consult with your physician if you suspect a Grade III strain.

Once the initial pain and swelling are through, you’ll undoubtedly want to return to physical activity. However, it’s wise not to rush yourself. You shouldn’t consider returning to your previous level of activity until you can move your injured leg as freely as the other leg and it feels just as strong. You shouldn’t feel pain as you walk or accelerate. Don’t push yourself; you don’t want to impair your muscle’s function permanently.

A physiotherapist can help you rehabilitate your hamstrings. He or she can help you learn to move in a way that doesn’t put pressure on the injured area and assist you reach your movement goals. Your physiotherapist can prescribe a course of muscle strengthening exercises to focus on weak areas. He or she can also provide support through manual manipulation of areas that are difficult to reach.

Injury prevention

Those who have experienced a hamstring strain have a chance of it recurring, since the muscles have been weakened. However, everyone can take steps to prevent a hamstring injury by warming up properly before exercising; avoiding the temptation to ramp up the level of a new activity too quickly so the body has time to accustom itself; and knowing and learning proper movement techniques for both sports and lifting/moving heavy items.

Hongmei Mi – RMT

Registered Massage Therapist

Graduating from the Massage Therapy Program at Vancouver Career College, Hongmei is equipped with extensive knowledge and experience to heal and relax the human body.

What sets Hongmei apart is her background in engineering and experience as a traditional Chinese masseuse. This has allowed Hongmei to effectively design and execute treatment plans that not only treat specific areas of the body, but to also view and treat the patient comprehensively.

Whether you are looking for a specific technique or a creative combination of a few, Hongmei does it all! – Including: Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, fascial work, joint mobilization, traditional Chinese massage and foot reflexology just to name a few.

In her spare time, Hongmei enjoys appreciating what nature has to offer, whether it be hiking or gardening.

Kevin Prudencio – B.Kin, BCAK

Practicing Kinesiologist

Kevin graduated from the Kinesiology program at the University of British Columbia with special interests in active health and rehabilitation. Throughout his schooling, Kevin worked as a certified personal trainer and a cardiac rehabilitation program instructor.

Kevin has experience working with patients of all ages and a wide variety of physical abilities. Currently he also works at Vancouver Coastal Health’s knee and hip replacement program. There he applies many of the strength and conditioning principles he learned coaching varsity sports at UBC and applies them to the clinical setting focusing more on rehabilitation and return to work goals.

Kevin believes that exercise and physical activity are crucial components in physical recovery and overcoming pain. He believes in educating his clients about their conditions and developing goals to get people back to life, work and sports.

Practice what you preach; Kevin is an avid weight lifter, loves badminton, soccer and on his days off enjoys salsa and hip hop dancing.

Trevor O’Malley – BHK, MPT

Registered Physiotherapist

Trevor completed his Master of Physical Therapy and Bachelor of Human Kinetics from the University of British Columbia. As a clinician, Trevor has a special interest in sports injuries, chronic pain, and orthopedic rehabilitation.

He is an advocate of evidence-based practice, and believes that education and exercise therapy are fundamental to improving rehabilitation outcomes. Currently, he has completed his Canadian Physiotherapy Association Orthopedic Division Level 1 certification, and continues to be involved in continuing education. Trevor is a proud member of Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia, and continues to promote physiotherapy throughout the community through volunteering.

On his weekends, Trevor enjoys spending his time in the outdoors; skiing, rock climbing, and fly-fishing.

Jaspreet Kaur – BPT

Registered Physiotherapist

Jaspreet graduated as a physiotherapist from Guru Nanak Dev University in India in 2011. She is passionate in providing the best quality treatments and outcomes to her patients. Jaspreet has a strong work ethic and interpersonal skills and enjoys participating in a collaborative team approach at work.

Some of Jaspreets’ other notable achievements and skills include:

Moved to Canada in 2013, and achieved post graduate certification
(Honours) in exercise science and lifestyle management from Humber College, Ontario. Clinical expertise and experience in a variety of areas with particular emphasis on outpatient orthopedics and athletic injuries. Experience as a personal trainer at Humber College, Toronto. Working as Physiotherapist since 2011 in a variety of clinical settings
including both hospital and private practice, treating acute, chronic and sports injuries, whiplash associated disorders, work related injuries, various musculoskeletal impairments, TMJ dysfunctions and post-surgical conditions. Jaspreet also has experience with a multitude of neck, back, joint aches, pains and a variety of medical conditions and dysfunctions. Jaspreet is also involved in continuing education, workshops, seminars and research to keep her skills up to date and is constantly learning new ways to help her patients. Jaspreet believes in educating her patients about their conditions and post treatment home programs to help improve their quality of life and reach their desired goals.

Ronak Kapadia – BPT, MAPAH

Registered Physiotherapist

Ronak Kapadia completed a Bachelors of Physiotherapy at the Health Sciences Dept. of Rajiv Gandhi University in India where he underwent intensive training at an 810 bed hospital. He has worked a physiotherapist in hospitals, orthopaedic clinics, community and university settings.

After gaining a few years of work experience Ronak pursued and successfully completed a Masters degree in Physical Activity and Health from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany where he was involved in research projects and received further clinical training.

Ronak has a special interest in orthopaedic and neurological conditions. He has specialized training in manual therapy techniques as well as a Yoga certification from India. He has extensive experience in dealing with musculoskeletal pathologies, sports related injuries as well as neurological conditions. He believes in hands-on therapy and applies manual therapy techniques in many of his treatment sessions. Ronak believes in lifelong learning and yearns for knowledge by researching and engaging new strategies and techniques to further help his clients.

Ronak is a very passionate and client focused physical therapist. He has a very pleasing personality, professional attitude and takes utmost care of his patients in order to obtain the best clinical results possible.

Languages known: English, Hindi, Gujarati, understands Punjabi

In his free time Ronak likes to sing, play music, meditate and go for a walk.

Deepika Sawant – BPT, MAS (Global Health)

Registered Physiotherapist

Deepika graduated with a Bachelors of Physiotherapy from Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Maharashtra University of Health Science in India in 2007. She was University topper and Topper of her College with distinction in Psychology during her bachelors. (This means top of her class.) In addition, she holds a Masters degree in Global health and Human Administration services from Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, USA (2013). She worked as a Registered Physiotherapist in India in both hospital and clinic based settings.

Deepika immigrated to Canada in 2012 and completed a Canadian Healthcare Content Course at University of Toronto. She then finished her IEP program from UBC in 2015 and has passed the written and practical component of the Canadian Physiotherapy National Exam.

She uses integrated manual therapy with exercise prescription to treat Orthopedic, neurological, sports, work related and motor vehicle accident injuries. Her areas of interest are sports injuries, chronic pain, neurological conditions, post op patients and exercise prescription. In her physiotherapy practice, she works hard to educate each of her patients on strategies for self-care and integrating exercise into the daily schedule. She strongly believes that good communication and follow-ups are important factors in ensuring continued care and managing a healthy lifestyle. Deepika is fluent in English, Hindi and Marathi and understands and speaks some Punjabi and Gujarati.

In her spare time, Deepika helps students preparing for the Canadian National exam to become registered physiotherapist in Canada. Her hobbies are dancing, swimming and travelling to new places.

Parneet Sandhu- BPT, MAS

Registered Physiotherapist

Parneet Sandhu is a registered physiotherapist with more than six years of experience; 4 years in India and two years in Canada. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy from one of the most reputed universities in India and subsequently completed a Masters in Administrative Sciences in BC.

As a former international athlete with an ongoing interests in health and fitness Parneet integrates her philosophies and experiences into her physiotherapy practice. Parneet follows an evidence based treatment style and coordinates with other health professionals in circle of care in order to improve treatment outcomes. She is experienced in treating patients with a variety of conditions such as orthopaedic, neurological, work related injuries, motor vehicle accident injuries, sports injuries, post-operative rehabilitation and much more.

Parneet uses her diverse skill set to empower her clients in reaching their desired goals. Parneet is also certified in Functional Dry Needling. In her free time Parneet keeps her sporting spirit alive by hiking and exploring new places.

Jonathan Heilbrunn – B.Sc (PT), CAFCI, FCAMT

Registered Physiotherapist

Jonathan Heilbrunn is a Registered Physiotherapist and graduate of the University of Western Ontario.

Clinical expertise in many areas of physiotherapy with particular emphasis on outpatient orthopedics and athletic injuries Diploma in Advanced Manual Therapy; a Fellow with the Canadian Academy of Manual Therapists Certified with the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada 15+ years experience in a variety of clinical settings treating both acute and chronic injuries stemming from sports injuries, motor vehicular accidents, various musculo-skeletal impairments, post surgical conditions, as well as normal every day aches and pains

The key to successful rehabilitation must involve educating patients on their diagnoses or injury and to help them to improve their quality of life and regain independence.